Marketing

Learn Growth Hacking: 35 Resources to Help You Become a Growth Hacker. At many technology companies, traditional marketing roles are transforming into growth hacking roles.

In fact, the work has become so popular now that some companies are hiring “growth hackers.” They are keeping their marketing departments and hiring growth hackers to work separately from marketing. So what is the role of a growth hacker? Different from marketers, who traditionally are less technical, growth hackers have one objective – to grow the company. This is done through a variety of tactics called (for lack of a better word) “hacks.” In this post, we’ll give a thorough overview of growth hacking, hiring growth hackers, resources on growth hacks, and additional helpful resources. Introduction 1. 2. 3. 4.
5 Influence Platforms to Watch in 2013. When Was the Last Time You Conducted A Brand Audit?
Relationship Marketing. Good customer relationships are the cornerstone of long-term corporate success.

The quest to build relationships often proves elusive and expensive because what people want is rarely delivered by the companies that serve them. Instead of investing resources in studying behavior and listening to customer feedback, many management teams waste time and effort watching what other companies are doing and listening to people with little or no management experience. If you want your company to grow, it’s time to get realistic about relationship marketing and use the lessons learned to improve the quality of the customer experience.

This means that the information available about best practices, customer expectations, and case studies has to be viewed through your company’s customer behavior lens. Your relationship with your customers is unique. Information shared about relationship building is always tainted by the knowledge and experience of the people sharing it. Connect:
6 Marketing Metric Mistakes to Avoid. Embracing modern relationship marketing means embracing data-- and lots of it.

Along with data comes every conceivable way to measure progress. There are literally hundreds if not thousands of possible marketing management metrics to choose from, and almost all of them measure something of some kind of value. The problem is that most of them relate very little to the revenue and profitability metrics that concern the CEO, CFO and the board.
The End Of Rational Vs. Emotional: How Both Logic And Feeling Play Key Roles In Marketing And Decision Making. One of the longest-running debates in marketing is whether to use a rational or emotional advertising approach in marketing—but cognitive science says that argument is pointless.

While emotions overwhelmingly drive behavior, it is misguided to believe that thinking and feeling are somehow mutually exclusive.
Teach Customers Why They Need A Product Before Trying To Sell It To Them. We all have someone in our lives who talks a lot without really saying anything.

It may be your poodle-obsessed mother-in-law, the neighbour who loves to yap endlessly about fertiliser, or the co-worker who drops by your desk several times a day just to say “hi.” An attack by one of these Chatty Cathys can leave you distracted, exhausted, and annoyed. Unfortunately, customers can view companies in exactly the same light.
The Power of Third-Party Influencers. Every brand, new or established, is looking to gain traction within the consumer marketplace by driving velocity at retail.

There are many marketing strategies designed to accomplish this goal; however, one of the most effective strategies is developing relationships with unbiased third-party experts. Depending on the industry in which you compete, these influencers could be nutritionists, dieticians, gadget experts, designers, bloggers, or myriad other category specialists. Each brings a level of expertise and knowledge within your vertical market that can be leveraged via both paid and unpaid partnerships. Below are five reasons brands should consider leveraging third-party influencers:
Why Originality is Overrated. If you’re in sales, you probably know this: Selling something new and different is a lot harder than selling something that’s familiar or something that’s just a little bit different and hopefully better.

Most people are reluctant to try new things. This is probably a lot less true for entrepreneurs, but the vast majority of your potential buyers aren’t going to be entrepreneurs or risk-takers.
Four Ways to Market Like a Startup - Brian Gregg and Vivian Weng. By Brian Gregg and Vivian Weng | 9:00 AM March 22, 2013 The culture of “big” — big budgets, big campaigns, big reports — has driven marketing decisions and budgets for decades.

But “big” is often cumbersome and slow. In an age when consumers decide within seconds whether or not to abandon a web site, big marketers need to act more like agile startups, maneuvering and adapting in real-time. We’ve seen large companies adopt a startup mindset and cut campaign development times by 50%. Here are four ways to pick up the pace. 1. Too often, marketers set well-defined financial goals for a campaign’s impact but fail to define clear objectives for learning about their customers.
How To Consistently Outsell Your Competitors. You can be producing the most innovative product or service on the market, but if you can’t convince people to buy it, your hard work sadly remains unprofitable.

Therefore, as an entrepreneur, you have no other choice other than to learn how to sell. Growing a business begins with converting leads and the foundation of inking contracts starts with your ability to connect with your target buyer.
4 Ways to Know You're Selling to the Right Market. When you open your start-up for business on the first day, you could sell your product to anyone. And that unlimited flexibility presents a huge strategic problem. The way you solve it will determine whether your start-up prevails or goes up in flames.
Rethinking Marketing Strategy For The Digital Age. Steve Jobs liked to say that it’s not enough to kill bad ideas, you have to kill good ones too.

That’s because good strategy is about making choices and it takes more than intelligence or even instinct, it takes discipline, one of Jobs’ most overlooked qualities. Marketing strategy is particularly difficult because, as I’ve noted before, the rules have changed. A generation ago, brands mostly strove to create buzz and “drive awareness,” now they need to build compelling experiences that keep consumers engaged. However, the old tasks have not gone away. We still need to run TV ads and in-store promotions, man conference booths and hand out brochures, but now on top of that we have a whole new world of algorithms, apps and devices to master.

5 Tips for Surviving the Shark Tank. At some point, growth businesses need to raise capital. Funding from cash flow and the owners' bank accounts are the best sources but are inherently limited, especially if you have a business that is scaling rapidly. Growth businesses often need to seek outside funding from corporate investment boards, angel investor groups, or VC firms.

Innovations in Piping Systems. By Mark Combs, Cre8iveDept.com I am sure you have heard the formula for gaining more customers, first let your customers KNOW you, get them to LIKE you, when they TRUST you, they will buy from you. Sounds simple but its not easy.
6 Ways to Be More Compelling. Projecting Image. Image is everything, at least at first.
10 Business Card Mistakes You Might Be Making. Everyone should have a business card, right?
Guerilla Marketing. The Noob Guide to Online Marketing - A beginners guide to internet marketing [INFOGRAPHIC]
Free Marketing Resources. Different Types of Loyalty. Loyalty is defined as a strong feeling of support or allegiance. Companies fight for it because it correlates well to product sales.
Turn Around Tough Customers. Watch out! Here comes Gladys.
Winning New Customers.

When you're having a conversation (or series of conversations) with a potential customer, work these questions into the dialogue.